Budget 2017: Market gives Jaitley a thumbs up, Sensex surges

Shares were volatile ahead of the Union Budget presentation

The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex cheered Union Budget 2017 by surging more than 400 points to regain the 28,000 mark on Wednesday, as finance minister Arun Jaitley unveiled a slew of measures in banking, finance sector, income tax, small housing and small and medium businesses, among others.

The Bombay Stock Exchange building. Shares were volatile ahead of the Union Budget presentation (AFP)

The 30-share BSE index gained 485.68 points to close at 28,141.64, 1.76% up from the previous close of 27,655.96.

The BSE mid-cap index rose by 1.77% and the BSE small-cap index by 1.68%, reflecting the finance minister’s support for small businesses in his budget speech.

Shares of state-run banks such as SBI, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and Syndicate bank too surged by up to 4% as the government announced an infusion of Rs 10,000 crore in public sector banks in the next fiscal, apart from allocating a record Rs 3.96 lakh crore to the infrastructure sector as well as granting infra status to affordable housing while leaving capital markets untouched.

The broader 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange surged by 155 points or 1.81%, to 8,716.30 points.

The Sensex had lost 226.50 points in the previous two sessions.

There was confusion in the morning as to whether the Budget would be presented at all, in view of the demise of long-time member representing Malappuram in Kerala -- E Ahamed of the IUML.

Ahamed had suffered a heart attack in the Parliament house and was hospitalised on Tuesday. The finance minister put all that to rest, tweeting that he would be presenting the budget.

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